The present invention relates to an electrical adapter for identifying a connection state to a network, and particularly to a novel electrical adapter, such that while a network connector is still inserted into a network port of a device, there is no need to unplug the cord to disable the network for the device.
A signal transmission cable, such as a telephone line, an optical fiber wire, an Ethernet cord and the like, is usually connected to a wall outlet or a corresponding female receptacle on another device through a flexible conductor or conductive wire with a plug-in connector at its end. The conventional RJ11, 8P8C (also called RJ45), MT-RJ and LC optical fiber connectors are all examples of the plug-in connector.
A computer system is normally connected to a certain type of network for resource sharing. Examples of these types of networks include Internet, Wide Area Networks (WAN) and Local Area Networks (LAN). In order to tap onto a network, such as a LAN, a client computer must employ a wireless or hard-wired method to be coupled to the LAN. The common hard-wired method employs the conventional RJ45 connector.
FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the plug of the conventional RJ45 connector. As shown, the conventional RJ45 plug 100 is basically made of plastic, and comprises a flexible retention latch 130 and a latch base 120. The retention latch 130 is also known as a connector tab or a latching tab, and is integrally formed as a part of RJ45 plug 100 by die casting. The retention latch 130 is composed of a thinner flexible section 132 coupled to the latch base 120 and a stem 134. The connection between the flexible section 132 and the stem 134 is provided with a pair of shoulders 136 as lock points. There is a vacant space 138 between the retention latch 130 and a body of the RJ45 plug 100 such that the retention latch 130 can be flexed in the vacant space 138. The rear end of the RJ45 plug 100 is attached to a network cable 110. Furthermore, the conventional RJ11, Mechanical Transfer Registered Jack (MT-RJ), and LC optical fiber plugs all have the flexible retention latch.
When the RJ45 plug 100 is inserted into a wall outlet or a network port on a computer system, the retention latch 130 on the plug 100 is flexed when crossing a pair of separated retention lips 139 inside a female receptacle 200, as shown in FIG. 2, and is snapped in to engage a pair of shoulders 136 of the retention latch 130 with a pair of separated retention lips 139 inside the female receptacle 200, and then form the locked attachment with the female receptacle 200. While disconnecting the RJ 45 plug 100, the stem 134 of the retention latch 130 extending outside the female receptacle 200 is pressed to disengage the shoulders 136 from the retention lips 139, so that the RJ45 plug 100 can be removed.